Washington wraps up a share of the MVC Valley Division championship

CEDAR RAPIDS — They weren’t going to be denied twice.

Class 5A sixth-ranked Washington was relentless defensively and wrapped up a share of the MVC Valley Division girls basketball championship with a 61-31 romp over No. 10 Iowa City High, 61-31, Thursday night at Washington High School.

“After the first two or three possessions, we smelled blood in the water,” Washington Coach Chris James said.

Washington (16-4 overall, 12-2 MVC) stubbed its collective toe with a loss to Cedar Rapids Prairie on Tuesday. Two nights later, the Warriors were locked in.

“Our last game was really a great motivator,” Samantha Becker said. “We got really relaxed and comfortable, more that we should have. We needed to get back in disruption mode.”

The Warriors discovered that shortly after the opening tip, snagging 13 steals in the first half against the short-handed Little Hawks (16-6, 10-4). The majority led directly to baskets.

A 14-point run in 3 1/2 minutes ignited the Warriors to a 20-4 lead after an opening quarter in which City committed 11 turnovers.

It was 39-17 at halftime, and the Warriors got the continuous clock going with 6:30 left in the game.

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Becker is one of three Washington seniors — Hailey Becker and Lily Belle Barker are the others — that started as freshmen on a team that went 1-21.

“We trusted the process as a team, and we have a lot of good juniors,” Barker said. “We’ve been growing together.”

Hailey Becker said, “We built a good connection.”

Washington clinched a share of its first divisional title since 2014.

Cedar Falls (16-4, 11-2) will be heavily favored to join the Warriors in a first-place tie Friday; the Tigers host Dubuque Hempstead.

“I wish we would have taken care of business Tuesday, but I’m proud of the girls,” James said. “In four years, they’ve gone from worst (in the MVC) to first.

“In this day and age in which kids go to another school if they’re unhappy, it’s refreshing to have the kind of kids we have.”

Washington’s Sira Doumbia, a 6-foot-4 junior post, led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Jayla Strong added 13 points. Samantha Becker posted 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals.

Barker scored nine, Gabriela Pedroso eight.

Kaitlin Loria led City High with 14 points. The Little Hawks were without Tessa Driscoll (illness).

Cedar Rapids Washington 61, Iowa City High 31

At C.R. Washington

IOWA CITY HIGH (31): Eve Vitense 2-7 0-0 6, Maybes Miller 0-6 0-0 0, Hattie Galloway 2-4 2-2 6, Thisbe Lewis 1-1 0-0 3, Kaitlin Loria 6-10 1-4 14, Ra’Niyah Blakeney 0-2 0-0 0, Halle Larew 0-2 2-2 2, Maeve Bowen-Burt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-33 5-8 31.

C.R. WASHINGTON (61): Jayla Strong 6-11 1-3 13, Lily Belle Barker 4-7 0-2 9, Samantha Becker 2-9 6-7 10, Hailey Becker 1-2 0-0 2, Sira Doumbia 7-9 3-3 17, Tashiyana Fields 1-1 0-0 2, Gabriela Pedroso 2-6 4-6 6, Maija Wickum 0-1 0-0 0, Aniya Wahe 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Hicks 0-0 0-0 0, Aly Sloan 0-0 0-0 0, Nina Shaw 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 14-21 61.

Iowa City High 4 13 3 11 — 31

C.R. Washington 20 19 15 7 — 61

3-point goals: City 4-18 (Miller 0-5, Lewis 1-1, Loria 1-2, Vitense 2-6, Galloway 0-1, Blakeney 0-1, Larew 0-1, Bowen-Burt 0-1), Washington 1-10 (Strong 0-2, Barker 1-4, S. Becker 0-2, H. Becker 0-1, Pedroso 0-1). Team fouls: City 15, Washington 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: City 25 (Larew 5), Washington 26 (S. Becker 7). Assists: City 5 (Galloway 2), Washington 12 (Barker, S. Becker 4). Steals: City 5 (Galloway 2), Washington 16 (S. Becker 5). Turnovers: City 25, Washington 11.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com